 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
for OAR 165-024-0015
Short Summary
The Elections Division hereby provides notice of administrative rulemaking activity for proposed amendments to OAR 165-024-0015.The Division scheduled a public hearing and is accepting comments. More information can be found below and on our website.
Public Hearing and Comments
A public hearing for this rule will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The hearing will take place on February 17, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Visit our website for more information. Public comments may be sent to the Elections Division until February 25, 2026, at 5 PM.
FILING CAPTION: Defines the data sources used to compile lists of languages for translating voters’ pamphlets.
RULE SUMMARY: This administrative rule outlines the data sources the Secretary of State uses to compile lists of the most commonly spoken languages other than English and the estimated numbers of individuals who speak each language. The Secretary of State uses this to translate the state voters’ pamphlet and county voters’ pamphlets under ORS 251.026, ORS 251.167, and ORS 251.170. The proposed amendments include the addition of statutory references and also re-organizes for clarity.
CHANGES TO RULE: The proposed changes to OAR 165-024-0015 can be found at this link.
NEED FOR RULE: An amendment to this rule is necessary because SB1533 (2024) revised the formulas used to determine which languages state and county voters’ pamphlets must be translated into. The current rule references a fixed number of languages, which no longer aligns with the updated statutory formula in ORS 251.167. As amended, this rule will specify data sources the Secretary of State uses to compile lists of the most commonly spoken languages other than English and the estimated numbers of individuals who speak each most commonly spoken language other than English as required by ORS 251.167. Amending the rule ensures compliance with the updated statutes, eliminates the need for future amendments if the formula changes again, incorporates grammatical improvements, includes statutory references, and re-organizes the rule for clarity.
DOCUMENTS RELIED UPON: ORS 247.017, Oregon Motor Voter Registration Manual, Oregon Motor Voter Program Audit
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